


The Past is a Messy Place

by FictionLover007



Series: Voltron One Shots [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Mentions of Allura's family, Mentions of terrorist situations, More tags will be added later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 14:15:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8893852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionLover007/pseuds/FictionLover007
Summary: Lance wants to know more about the paladins before then, and so he asks Allura. The story that ensues is full of tragedy and a promise is made to make sure the past does not repeat itself with them.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this is kind of an expansion into the extra universe that I developed in my previous stories. I hope you guys like it, please leave kudos and comments if you do. 
> 
> Also, if there's anything you guys want me to write, leave your prompts in the comments below before Wednesday.

"Hey Allura!" Lance strolled into the control room.

"Oh, hello Lance. How are you this morning?" Allura responded, while checking various instruments on the control panel in front of her.

"I'm good thanks. How about you?"

She glanced at the blue paladin, who was standing a few feet behind her. He was sporting his regular jeans, but a black t-shirt as well, that Allura remembered another paladin wearing recently.

"I'm doing well. I see you and Keith have been getting along quite well recently."

"Huh, yeah." Lance rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I had a question for you."

"Alright, just give me a mo...ment, and done!" She turned around to face him. "Now, what can I help you with?"

"Well, um...in the exercise that we practiced the other day, you mentioned that your mother and brother were previous paladins, and Zarkon as well. I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about the previous paladins. And don't get me wrong, I like Coran, but when I mentioned it to him earlier, his eyes got this sad look, and I didn't really get anything from him. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, it's probably really personal and..."

"Lance, I would be happy to tell you." Allura cut off the blue paladin before he could ramble any further. "But if you don't mind, perhaps we could move this to a more comfortable setting. There is a lot to tell."

"Of course." Lance looked surprised, but smiled. "How about the communal area off of the dining hall? There are some sofas in there, and I can make tea if you like?"

"That sounds lovely. Shall we?"

The paladin and the princess walked to the communal area in comfortable silence. When they arrived, they saw Shiro sitting on one of the sofas, drawing.

"Hey Shiro!" Lance called.

He looked up, and indiscreetly hid the pad he was sketching on.

"Hello Lance. Allura. What are you two doing?"

"Oh, I asked Allura to tell me some stuff about the paladins before us." Lance answered.

"Oh? May I join you? I can't deny I've been curious since you mentioned our predecessors the other day."

"Of course. Perhaps we could gather everyone, and I could tell all of you the stories." Allura suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea. Shiro, can you get the others? I promised I would make hot beverages."

A few moments later, the castle's inhabitants were gathered around the communal area, holding an Altean version of hot chocolate or tea.

Shiro sat next to Allura, Pidge sitting on the floor by the coffee table, the innards of what appears to be a robot of some kind sat on their lap. Hunk shared a sofa with Coran, and the two were munching on some ration bars laid out on a platter. Keith sat on the last sofa, his back against the arm, and Lance laying between his legs, resting on the red paladin's stomach. Keith absentmindedly started playing with Lance's hair, and Allura began to tell her stories.

"I was five years old when I first heard the stories of the paladins of Voltron. Intergalactic heroes that subdued threats and mediated disputes on various planets, saving lives and keeping peace amongst our neighboring planets. My tutors told me of their bravery and generosity, and their ability to cooperate with each other, despite their differences."

She took a breath and continued. "At the time, a peacekeeping project like that, with the ability to control a weaponized, sentient machine like Voltron worried many people, and so, in an effort to sooth concerns, the paladins were elected to be diplomats from powerful allies, on the condition that two Altean paladins were present, since we were responsible for the upkeep and maintenance, and the owners, of Voltron. The Altean pilots were the head of the Altean military division and the best diplomat Altea had to offer, my mother."

"My mother was the Blue paladin, and the head of the military, General Khaal, was the Green paladin. The Black paladin was the diplomat from the peaceful, at the time, Zarkon planetary system. The Yellow paladin was Ballarian, an alien species that was the ancestor to today's Balmorans, and the Red paladin was Mauvian. Mauvians were known for being a war-like race, but also for their prowess in military strategy. A Galran was chosen for the Black lion because they were the most powerful empire in the galaxy and we thought it diplomatic to give them the leadership position. We had no idea how big of a mistake that was."

Coran snorted, and looks of sympathy were pointed at the two Alteans. "They worked well together, and for the first few years, peace remained in the galaxy. But then General Khaal passed away, and there was conflict as to who should be the next Green paladin. Mixing alien diversity had had a positive effect, and both Zarkon and the Mauvian paladin thought that someone else should replace him, a non-Altean candidate. But my father insisted and eventually won, and the best warrior we had was chosen. My brother, Lyill."

"It took a while for the rest of the paladins to adjust to Lyill. Training exercises had to be practiced every day for a month before the paladins were able to form Voltron. But eventually he felt like he fit in. That was until the Galran empire captured a passenger ship containing over 2,000 people, and executed them all for trespassing."

Gasps of disbelief and horror were heard from around the room, and Allura paused.

"Were they trespassing?" Pidge asked softly.

"Not according to us," Coran answered. "...but since the Galran empire had claimed all space in their system, and the ship technically was in said space, Galra could claim that they were. They said that the ship did not have the clearance to be there, and recording devices held "surveillance" that could be used against them., therefore all passengers were guilty of trespassing and possible espionage. This, according to Galran law, was punishable by death."

Allura nodded, and added to Coran's answer. "The passenger ship contained members of various species, however a family of Alteans, including two children, were among them. Not to mention, over 300 Mauvians were on board, including a member of their Royal Parliament. The Mauvians declared the executions to be a terror attack, and declared war on the Galran empire. It was the duty of the paladins to try and settle the issue, however discord between the paladins also became apparent. The Red paladin and the Black paladin, who were once as close as brothers, became enemies. Fighting ensued, until Zarkon challenged the Mauvian to a duel. Zarkon won, and he killed the Red paladin in cold blood."

Shiro and Keith glanced at each other, and Shiro sent Keith a reassuring look, as if to promise that would never happen to them.

"When the other paladins discovered what happened, they reacted in the only way they could. They took away the Black Lion, and locked it within the castle. They also intended on capturing Zarkon, but he escaped in the Red Lion. While doing so, he contacted a group of Galran soldiers, the same group who had apparently staged an insurrection on the Galran government and taken the passenger ship, and the Galran soldiers attacked Altea. Without Voltron, our defenses couldn't hold up, and we were forced to evacuate."

"The lock placed on the Black Lion, like you already know, was dependent upon the presence of all other lions. With the Red lion gone, only three lions remained. When the new Galran government, now led by Zarkon, attacked the Ballarians and the Balmora, the Yellow paladin tried to go home to fend for his people, but was forced into hiding. He was captured later on, and killed by Zarkon."

"The only two that remained were my mother and brother, and they fought valiantly to protect our home. But the day came when our castle was attacked yet again by Zarkon, and we all watched in horror as my brother was blasted out of the sky. He fell through a wormhole, and disappeared, and I can only assume he died, after crash-landing on the planet where you found the Green lion."

"My mother was grieving through the comms system, and both she and my father were fighting not to cry in mourning, but it became clear that this was a fight she couldn't have won, so she hailed Zarkon in surrender, and boarded his ship. Secretly, she had given Blue plans to fly away as far as possible, so that Zarkon wouldn't have her, and she landed on Earth. My mother, however, was not so lucky. She was a prisoner or Zarkon, and now she must be dead, thinking both I and my father succumbed in the attack, even though we did not."

She looked at the other paladins, her face betraying her emotions. "The rest, you know."

Shiro reached out to touch her, and comfort her, but realized he did so with his Galra hand and pulled back at the last second. However, Allura noticed the gesture, and sent him a thankful smile.

"Wait, hang on." Lance sat up, and Keith grumbled upon losing his body heat. "If the castle was attacked, and King Alfor died here, what happened to the bodies? Shouldn't there be something laying around?"

"Unlike human bodies, Alteans dissolve upon death, leaving only quintessence behind, which will eventually disappear into the heart of the planet upon which said Altean died." Coran answered Lance's question, and then stood up.

"Well, that was quite the trip down memory lane, and I'm afraid that I must now retire. I suggest that you all do the same. Come Allura, let us go to bed now."

The princess nodded, and stood, and joined the older Altean, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as the two walked out. The paladins watched them go in silence, until the door slid shut.

"Wow." Keith exclaimed. "I knew that something bad must have happened, but I never imagined..." The red paladin trailed off

"I don't think either of us did." Shiro responded. "Guys, I know the chances of this are unlikely, but if I ever do anything like that..."

"Don't think like that Shiro." Lance cut him off. "If you do, you'll keep wondering in fear if you'll become like Zarkon until the point that you actually will, and then we'll break apart like the former paladins did. So just keep doing your best, for us."

Shiro nodded, and stood up. "I'm going to do my rounds and then head to bed. Goodnight everyone."

A round of good nights were heard, and Shiro walked to the door, until he paused.

"Pidge?"

"Yeah." The youngest paladin replied.

"Please don't work on that thing too late. Try and get some sleep tonight."

Pidge rolled their eyes and said "Yes dad!"

Shiro shook his head, and continued out of the door. Pidge and Hunk climbed to their feet as well, and also walked out, so that they too could go to bed, leaving only Keith and Lance left.

The two boys sat, before Keith cleared his throat and started to speak.

"Hey Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"I couldn't help but think about Allura's mom, and I wanted to ask you something. If you were the last paladin left, and you thought you had lost everyone you cared about, what would you do?"

"I'd have done the exact same thing that Allura's mom did. Surrender. The only reason I do this is for the people I care about. If they're gone, then there's nothing left for me. What about you?"

"I don't know. For a long time, I didn't really have anyone to care about, until I met Shiro. And for a while, it was only him. But then I met you, and Hunk, and Pidge, and Coran and Allura, and now , I think, that if I lost that, I would just...break. Give up. And hope for a quick death, because now I can't even imagine life without you."

Lance turned to Keith, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "Then can you promise me something?"

Keith looked at his boyfriend apprehensively. "What?"

"If I go first, between the two of us, I need you to tell my family. About us, about Voltron, Zarkon. Tell them everything. And I promise, they'll take care of you, until you find that meaning again. Because Keith, I don't want to imagine you being alone ever again. Can you do that?"

Keith looked at Lance in shock and sadness. "Of course, but Lance, understand, between you and me on who goes first, I would rather it be me, every time."

"I would rather it be us going together, how about that?" Lance asked.

"Together." Keith nodded. "Together sounds good to me."

The two paladins smiled, and stood up, and held hands as they walked out of the room, and spent the night curled up in each other, content with a promise of companionship, that would last them for a lifetime.


End file.
